1. Crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding uses social media and your donors’ support to rally funds for your nonprofit. It’s a great way to spread the word about your cause and gain new supporters.

However, to create a campaign, you’ll need to find a platform. Let’s take a look at three different ones you can use.

A. Booster

About the platform:

Booster is a unique, risk-free crowdfunding platform that allows nonprofits to raise funds by selling T-shirts. With Booster, you can design and sell up to five different products or color variations for your campaign.

Additionally, their fundraising pages have built-in social sharing buttons so that donors can easily share your campaign with their network.

Why we love it:

Booster is great for fundraising events like walkathons because when donors receive their t-shirt, they are effectively spreading the word about your cause. Every time they wear it, they are sharing your cause with everyone that sees!

The price:

Booster makes it easy for any nonprofit to set up a campaign. There are no setup costs or any fees to design your T-shirts. You will pay 2.8% of the total funds you raise as part of the payment process fee.

B. Fundly

About the platform:

Fundly is a versatile crowdfunding platform for individuals and nonprofits.

Social sharing is a key feature on Fundly’s fundraising pages. Every crowdfunding page has buttons where supporters can share your campaign to their networks. That way, supporters can spread the word about your campaign.

In addition to their sharing options, Fundly offers mobile-responsive pages and a mobile app so that supporters can access your campaign on the go. Mobile features make it easier for donors to give, which can help you raise even more funds.

C. Generosity

About the platform:

If you’re looking for a site that focuses on raising money for philanthropic causes then Generosity is a good choice. All you have to do is tell your story, upload an image, and you are ready to start raising funds.

Why we love it:

Generosity is a fundraising platform for socially minded causes, so your nonprofit will fit right in! Plus, it’s backed up with the support of a much larger crowdfunding platform.

The price:

To use Generosity, your nonprofit won’t have to pay any platform fees. However, the payment processor does charge 3% plus $0.30 per transaction.

2. CRMs and donor databases

CRMs and donor databases help keep all your fundraising information in one place. When you have everything centralized, you can save time. You won’t have to search for information on different software to get the full picture. Everything will be in one place that you can easily refer to.

Additionally, these valuable tools can give you a well-rounded understanding of your current fundraising so that you can plan accordingly.

With Salsa’s donor management feature, you can create profiles for all your supporters.

Additionally, you can run reports on various campaigns to help you make critical decisions and improve future campaigns.

Why we love it:

Salsa’s all-in-one fundraising software can handle anything from donation pages to analysis. That way, you can collect the information donors provide on the donation pages you create. You won’t have to transfer any of your information to a different software.

B. Little Green Light

About the tool:

Your nonprofit can manage fundraising events by tracking RSVPs, attendance, and guest names. Plus, Little Green Light integrates with other software so that you can link up with your email marketing software and payment processor.

Why we love it:

Little Green Light is an online-based tool that doesn’t require your nonprofit to download any software. You can also give access to as many users as you want.

The price:

The cost to use Little Green Light will depend on the number of supporters you want to track. For example, if you track 10,000 donors, your nonprofit will pay $59 a month or $637 annually. Additionally, you’ll have to pay processing fees if you want to use their donation forms. You can get more detailed information on pricing here.

C. Neon

About the tool:

With Neon, your nonprofit can create pages such as surveys, membership forms, or fundraising campaigns. All the information that you collect from these pages goes into your Neon CRM database for future use.

The price:

3. Online donation software

Online donation software helps your nonprofit accept donations in a way that’s convenient for your donors. With this software, you can be more conscious of your donors’ preferences and create forms that keep supporters on the page until they confirm their contribution.

A. Qgiv

About the software:

When you create a donation page, you have full control over the layout and design. That way, you can create a page that is consistent with your nonprofit’s brand.

In addition to accepting online gifts, Qgiv allows donors to register for events, memberships and so much more on the donation forms you create.

Why we love it:

Qgiv’s software is easy to use. You won’t have to learn HTML or CSS code to create a fully customized form.

The price:

To create unlimited donation form, you won’t have to pay a monthly fee. You’ll just pay a processing fee of 3.95% plus $0.30 per transaction. If you’re looking for customized donation pages or text-to-give, the price will start at $49 a month. For more information on Qgiv’s pricing, look here.

4. Payment Processing

Although, it’s a process that’s not often thought about, payment processing is critical if you want to raise funds online. In fact, one of the concerns donors have about making online donations is security.

Having a secure payment processor is important because it makes sure that your donors’ information stays safe.

A. iATS Payments

About the payment processor:

iATS Payments is a PCI-compliant payment processor that helps you process credit, debit, and ACH payments.

In addition to security measures like tokenization and PCI compliance, iATS works one-on-one with your nonprofit to establish the level of fraud protection that you need.

Why we love it:

iATS is a secure payment processor that works exclusively with nonprofits.

Price:

B. PayPal

About the payment processor:

PayPal is one of the most widely used payment processors for individuals, businesses, and even nonprofits. Aside from accepting online donations through their website, PayPal also features a mobile app where you can accept contributions.

Price:

5. Prospect Research

Prospect research is what helps you gain a deeper understanding of your donors. The insights you learn from prospect research can help you create better fundraising campaigns and help you improve your outreach.

A. DonorSearch

About the tool:

DonorSearch can help learn more about your potential donors and your current donors so that you can gain knowledge on their personal backgrounds, giving history, and much more.

They deliver all the results through their easy-to-use platform.

Why we love it:

DonorSearch provides more than just general prospect research; they also provide wealth screenings so that you can find potential major gift supporters.

The price:

If you’re interested in DonorSearch, their pricing will depend on the services you need. Contact them for more information.

B. Attentive.ly

About the tool:

Attentive.ly uses social media listening to help you find out more about your donors. You can listen to what donors are saying about your nonprofit and gain more insights into their interests and preferences.

Why we love it:

Attentive.ly integrates with many CRMs so that any new information you learn about donors can be linked and transferred to your current donors’ profiles.

The price:

The beauty of Attentive.ly is that you can start their services for free. Of course, you’ll have limited features, so if you want more insights, they have plans ranging anywhere from $255 to $450 a month.

6. Email marketing software

Email marketing software can help automate your outreach so that you can effectively engage with donors. With a simpler way to interact with donors, you can create more communications and improve your stewardship strategies.

A. MailChimp

About the software:

MailChimp helps you send out automated emails to your donors. With their tool, your nonprofit can create and design email messages. You can create different lists so that each donor receives a different and tailored message.

Why we love it:

With a list of features that includes tracking and analytics, you can keep a record of what email campaigns were successful and make changes to improve the ones that weren’t.

The price:

Even small nonprofits can start using MailChimp’s services. You can start for free.

If you’re a larger organization or want additional features, you’ll pay up to $199 a month for services.

7. Matching gift services

With matching gift services, you have the potential to double your donations! Many supporters don’t realize that their employers offer programs where they will match donations made to nonprofits.

It’s up to you to educate donors about matching gifts and make it easy for them to learn about their employer’s program.

Matching gift services can help. We’ll cover two different services.

A. Double the Donation

About the service:

Double the donation helps make it easier for donors to search for their company’s matching gift program. They include features that you can add to your donation pages to inform donors about matching gifts.

They offer a tool that you can embed on your matching gift page and other web pages where donors can search for their company’s program.

Why we love it:

Double the Donation’s tools help donors get familiar with matching gifts. By providing them with a way to search for their company’s program during the donation process and wherever you mention matchings lets them understand how to submit a request after they give.

Price:

Double the Donation’s basic plan starts at $299 a month. If you want their premium plan that comes with more customization and integrations, it costs $499 a month.

B. 360MatchPro

About the service:

360MatchPro automatically informs donors about matching gifts so you don’t have to spend a lot of time reminding them about their company’s program.

If donors fill out the donation form using their company email or search for their company matching gift program on the donation form, they will automatically get a reminder email with details on their company’s program and how to submit a matching gift request.

Why we love it:

Donors can receive specific reminders about their program so that they are more familiar with the process.